Australia: LGBTQ Parade Allows Police to March out of Uniform

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Facts

  • After the alleged murder of a gay couple in New South Wales (NSW), Australia by a police officer and ex-boyfriend of one of the victims, organizers of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade agreed to allow police to march conditional on the officers not wearing uniforms.1
  • Days after the couple's disappearance, police constable Beaumont Lamarre-Condon turned himself in at a Sydney police station on Friday and appeared in court later that day in connection with the crimes.2
  • The Mardi Gras organizers originally asked the NSW police not to attend the parade, claiming its decision was 'not taken lightly' and made to provide a safe environment 'to protest, celebrate,' and 'honour and grieve those we've lost.'3
  • After Police Commissioner Karen Webb had dialogue with the organizers, the Mardi Gras board agreed to backtrack so long as police marched in plainclothes. Webb, however, was criticized for calling the killings a 'crime of passion' rather than out of homophobia.4
  • Officials, including Sydney lawmaker Alex Greenwich — who is gay — had urged the organizers to re-invite the police, arguing that "We need to work together." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also lauded the decision, adding he understood the concerns of Sydney's LGBTQ community.4
  • Australia's federal police said it would not attend per the parade's original request. Police have been marching in Mardi Gras for decades, with NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley saying it 'really has gone a long way to help their relationship' with the LGBTQ community.5

Sources: 1ABC News, 2Verity, 3BBC News, 4The Sydney Morning Herald and 5The Guardian.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Daily Mail. Mardi Gras's decision to re invite the police was the right one. Banning officers — many whom are members of the LGBTQ community — would not only hurt the relationship between police and the community but add more unnecessary division to the world. Police need to remain close to the people they're hired to protect, so this moment should be used to strengthen that bond at a time of sadness and grief.
  • Narrative B, as provided by The Guardian. While the Mardi Gras board has now reversed its decision, the public should understand why it made the original decision in the first place. Australian police have failed to protect LGBTQ people for decades, even throughout the years it was participating in the parade. With police ignoring gay hate crimes for so long, the community was bound to take a stand at some point.

Predictions